“That’s when he pushes the pace” - Christian Lee says Ok Rae Yoon waits for opponents to tire

After nearly a year of patiently waiting, Christian Lee will finally have the opportunity to recapture the ONE lightweight world championship on Friday. ‘The Warrior’ will run back his ONE: Revolution bout with reigning champion Ok Rae Yoon in a rematch that fans and fighters have been chomping at the bit to see.

In their meeting last September, Christian Lee and much of the MMA community were left scratching their heads as Ok Rae Yoon was announced the unanimous decision winner.

With Ok taking a significant amount of damage in the first 15 minutes, including a broken orbital, many believed that Lee had done more than enough to walk away with his seventh straight victory. Instead, Lee’s momentum was halted thanks to the South Korean outpacing ‘The Warrior’ in the last 10 minutes of their clash.

In an interview on the ONE Championship YouTube channel, Lee discussed Ok Rae Yoon’s tactics that have kept the South Korean champion undefeated inside the circle thus far.

“Ok Rae Yoon, in my opinion, his game his greatest strength is to go out there and to survive, to be [the] tough guy that no one could knock out, that no one could take down. And then when you get tired, that’s when he pushes the pace, that’s where he tries to win the fight.”

Catch ONE's interview with Lee below:

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Can Ok Rae Yoon ‘Rope-A-Dope’ Christian Lee in their ONE 160 rematch?

The style of fighting that Ok Rae Yoon employs inside the circle is commonly referred to as the ‘rope-a-dope’. More common in boxing, ‘rope-a-dope’ is a technique in which one competitor draws non-injuring offensive punches to let the opponent tire themselves out.

This technique was most famously used by boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 1974 when he met fellow boxing icon George Foreman in a fight dubbed the ‘Rumble in the Jungle'. The tactic has been used by other boxing icons including Manny Pacquiao, ‘Irish’ Mickey Ward, and Floyd Mayweather.

Ok Rae Yoon uses a similar method to dispatch his opponents. Outlasting the opposition with his incredible gas tank, the South Korean often takes over fights in the second half, leaving a good impression on the judges and getting the decision nod.

Ok has won all three of his fights inside the circle via unanimous decision. Can he do it one more time against Christian Lee or will ‘The Warrior’ be hip to Ok’s tactics heading into their epic rematch at ONE 160? We'll find out this Friday.